Facebook Upgrades to Madison Avenue

Facebook, the time-devouring, procrastination-rewarding, world-dominating social networking site, has traded its New York digs on Fifth Avenue (in midtown) for larger space at 340 Madison Avenue (also in midtown).

“As we expanded our team in New York, we simply outgrew our old space,” said Meredith Chin, a Facebook spokeswoman.

The new office is 11,119 square feet big, can hold about 60 employees, and is on the sixth floor of a very glassy and modern-looking building owned by Broadway Partners, which bought it for an astonishing $550 million in 2006 amidst an epic, and ultimately ill-starred, skyscraper buying-spree from Macklowe Properties (which, to be sure, encountered some ill stars of its own).

Newmark Knight Frank broker Daniel Katcher, who along with the Ippolito brothers (Paul and Mike) represented the sublandlord SunGard in negotiations for the three-year lease, described the space as “a nice mix between corporate, tech and loft offices.” In other words, the space feels kind of creative (high ceilings) and corporate (dropped ceilings).

The Facebook employees who inhabit the space are part of Facebook’s sales team, which was represented by Grubb & Ellis’ Larry Zuckerman. The corporation is headquartered in Palo Alto.

Facebook has relocated from the architectural fabulosity that is the Fred F. French building at 551 Fifth Avenue.

At 340 Madison, the Facebookers have all manner of scintillating company: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency leases space there, as do PNC Financial Services Group and Banco Espirito Santo Investment. Not that it matters. The real party’s on the interweb.